1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographic film analyzer and a film inspecting method, in which an image simulating an area to be printed is displayed on a display. More particularly, the present invention relates to a photographic film analyzer and a film inspecting method, in which automatic detection of areas to be printed can be visually confirmed.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,266 discloses a photographic printer having a monitor display. A picture frame formed on developed film is set in a printing station. The printer incorporates a pick-up device for receiving an image on the frame and generating a corresponding image signal. To check the position of the frame in the printer and the density and color expected on a finished image of the frame, a subject image of the frame as received by the pick-up device is processed and displayed on a monitor display for the purpose of visual simulation.
Recently, panoramic photographs have become popular. A panoramic photograph is produced by recording a panoramic picture frame on a 35 mm photographic film in the format of 13.times.36 mm, and printing the panoramic frame on photographic paper e.g., at the format of 89.times.254 mm. Such a panoramic photograph is twice as long horizontally as a standard photograph, namely a full size photograph having an L-size or E-size.
To take a photographic subject to create the panoramic frame, a compact camera or a lens fitted film unit specially designed for panoramic photography is used. In addition, a variable frame size camera is now commercially available. The variable frame size camera is provided with a manually operable member arranged inside the camera for changing the frame size. Once the camera is loaded with film, the selected size cannot be changed until the end of the use of the single strip of film. Recently, another variable camera, which is provided with a manually operable adjusting member arranged outside the camera has become available. In the course of the use of the film, the frame size, either the full size or the panoramic size, can be selected as desired before each photograph is taken. This camera produces a single strip of exposed film which may have full size frames and panoramic frames.
A camera capable of pseudo-zooming photography is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 4-234027. For pseudo-zooming photography, a camera is operated to expose a standard full size frame on photographic film. A desired portion inside the frame is designated for reproduction while a photographer observes a photographic subject, e.g., by displaying indicating marks in a viewfinder of a camera. For example, a rectangle can be displayed to indicate the desired portion of the image. Also, a zoom finder, with which the photographer targets the subject while the viewfinder zooms can be utilized. The camera checks the zooming magnification in correspondence with the targeted range, and records printing magnification data, derived from the zooming magnification, onto a recording medium, such as a magnetic recording area on the photographic film or an IC card in the camera. To print a trimming-printed photograph in a pseudo-zooming process, the designated portion in the frame to be printed is enlarged in accordance with the printing magnification data read out of the recording medium. The trimming-printed photograph as obtained has an image reproduced as if a photograph were taken with telephotography by zooming a zoom lens of a camera.
After use of a variable frame size camera, a single strip of exposed film is provided with full size frames and panoramic frames, and thus requires discrimination of the two sizes, by means of either automatic discrimination or visual recognition of the frames, for the purpose of selection of a printing mode. However, there are cases in which even an automatic discrimination process misjudges a panoramic frame as a full size frame. Firstly, a variable frame size camera is provided with masking members inserted in front of the film into the light path in the camera to mask upper and lower horizontal portions to form a panoramic aperture. One or more portions of the masking members could fail to shield light completely, so that subject image of the panoramic frame may have undesired exposed portions which are outside of the panoramic format. Secondly, a variable frame size camera, provided with an automatic date recording mechanism, could record a date of the photography on the lower marginal horizontal area which is outside the panoramic frame. The image of the date or the undesired exposed portions could be misjudged as part of a full size frame, because a sensor used for the automatic discrimination process of the frame sizes receives a signal of high density from these portions.
Further, there are image frames of which either automatic discrimination or visual recognition of the frame sizes is likely to misjudge a panoramic frame and a full size frame. For example, a frame in which the background scene is recorded at excessive underexposure while a principal subject is somewhat small, such as a scene of fireworks, may be very difficult to reliably discriminate.
The density and color of a finished image subjected to a pseudo-zooming operation can be checked and adjusted while simulating the finished image. With the simulated image observed, adjustment of exposure is visually estimated, to allow the input of exposure correcting data. If a full size frame designated for pseudo-zooming photography is photometrically measured for exposure correction surrounding undesignated portions outside the desired subject image will be included in the photometric measurement. This would affect the accuracy of the resulting exposure correction data because the photometry of the subject image as recorded would take into account the portions outside the subject image. Accordingly, photometric measurements of subject images designated for pseudo-zooming are often inaccurate.
A monitor display used for checking the finished image in simulation will show the entirety of the full size frame, either with or without the framing line designating the desired subject image inside it. An operator thus is required to estimate exposure adjustment for the desired subject image, which is only a portion of the full size frame, while observing the full size simulated frame. Such visual estimation tends to be influenced by the color and density in the apparently inseparable surrounding undesignated portions outside the desired subject shown on the monitor display. This makes appropriate reproduction of pseudo-zoomed images difficult and slow.